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After reading the recent postings on this board about Flaming Gorge and watching Doug Miller's show about Flaming Gorge lake trout last Saturday, I'm excited to give FG a try. The only problem is I haven't been there for about 40 years. I have a general idea of where it is and what it is like, but I don't know what places are best for fishing--especially through the ice. From the BFT postings and the Doug Miller show, I have a pretty good idea of what lures and baits to use, but I don't know "where to go or how to get there." (There's an opening for somebody with a quick wit.) Seriously, can somebody with FG experience give me some guidance? I don't want to drive all the way out there and not have any success. Some advice on the best times to fish would also be helpful. Thanks!
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Few anglers will share one of their honey holes for catching macks at Flaming Gorge. A couple suggestions. Get up there and talk to some of the local people in the businesses that cater to visitors. They may not know (or not willing to share) the exact area that one should fish, but they will probably get you fairly close. After all, they want you and many other visitors to keep coming back. If possible, start fishing as early as you can -- daybreak at the absolute latest. One thing about ice fishing is that while people are fishing they are visible, unless they are inside of an ice shack, and secondly until the next snow storm the holes that they have drilled are visible. Take a pair of binoculars with you and do some checking on how others are doing. One problem at The Gorge is that often the fish stay concentrated in an extremely small area (because of certain underwater structure that attracts them) and you can miss a honey hole by only a few feet.
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From Doug Miller's Site:
For a little over a week now, anglers have been on the ice on the Wyoming side of Flaming Gorge. From the access point at Currant Creek, the walk onto the ice is easy and plenty of safe ice has built of the last few days.
Here is a link to his story: [url "http://kutv.com/outdoors/"]http://kutv.com/outdoors/[/url]
Don't forget the Wyoming (fishing) stamp and someone has said that Utah 4-wheelers need a special permit also.
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I live in Provo, and the drive to the Wyoming side of Flaming Gorge is a long one. How about the Utah side? Is the ice thick enough for fishing there yet? I don't need to know about any special honey holes, but i would appreciate knowing which roads, landings, bays, etc. would be most productive if I go ice fishing at the Gorge. It's a big place and without a little guidance I could easily spend the whole morning driving around instead of fishing.
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Sorry, basically no fishable ice on the Ut side. Not even enough that I would risk it as crazy as I am about coldfootin'.
PS. For a new comer to the waters I would suggest at this time to try the upper end around Buckboard, Confluences/Lost Dog and you can access them from the west side of FG. All area roads are marked fairly well other than the Confluece road. Its merely marked with an 11.Also, beware of the mud conditions when it storms up there. Its stick clay and very slick making travel without a 4x4 or chains pretty tough on many of the dirt roads leading into the Res.
The main Buckboard road is paved. Lost Dog is gravel. And my guess would be that the Confluence road is sticky MUCK right now in many places.
Good luck!
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BTW! Just so's ya know,, that wasnt this Don that made any comments about the Doug airing on FG.
Thruth is,, some of us have been Ice fishing FG sence before New Years Day,, and,, nearly as far south as Current Creek sence 1-21-05.
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THANKS! That's exactly the kind of information I needed. Now, I can start planning a trip to the Gorge. I have just one more question. Since the driving time seems to be over four hours, I'm wondering if I'm going to have to get up really early in the morning in order to get there by dawn, or if there's a good place to stay nearby--either a campground, RV park, or motel--so I can go the night before I start to fish. Information on experiences that any BFTers have had staying overnight near the Gorge in the winter would be helpful.
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When we make our ice runs we usually stay for 3 days and two nights. There are several places to stay in Green River which is only a 20 minutes run to Buckboard as well as in Rock Springs which is the access point to the Northern east side of FG. Check around when ya get there because room rates seem to jump and dive weekly but expect to spend between 40 or 50 bucks a night for a room at the smaller motels with nukes,, etc...
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Wiperslayer and I are planning on going up to Green river over the weekend and could use some advice on a couple of things, if you don't want to post them, could you send me a PM, thanks. We were wondering what bait and jigs we should take, also a general area to fish. We have all the info that you and Doug Miller have posted lately so we have the general idea. I know we should use green or white tube jigs and carp or sucker meat and the Current creek area for fishing. We were hoping to find one more area to fish in case the the first area is slow or over crowded. Any other help you can give will be greatly appreciated. WH2
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